Joseph Diaz Jr. and Shavkat Rakhimov fought to a 12-round majority draw in an IBF Junior Lightweight world title clash at the Fantasy Springs Resort in Indio, California.
Diaz was the reigning champion, but he lost his title on Friday when he was more then three pounds over the 130-pound weight limit.
It was a close fights with each guy having good stretches of success with the left hand. The fight was a mirror image as they both landed some solid body blows. The was some solid in-fighting with Rakhimov pulling ahead towards the championship rounds. Diaz had a good 12th and the fight was judged 115-113 for Diaz and 114-114 twice.
Diaz landed 233 of 740 punches; Rakhimov was 213 of 951.
Diaz, 133.6 lbs of South El Monte, CA is 31-1-1. Rakhimov, 129.8 lbs of Ekaterinburg, RUS is 15-1.
“I’m a little upset. I felt I had done enough to win the fight,” said Joseph Diaz Jr. “It was a close fight. It wasn’t my best performance. I didn’t make weight. I lost the belt on the scales. I want to apologize to everyone. I want to apologize to all my fans. It was a mistake on my behalf. No excuses, but I’ll be back. Rakhimov threw a lot of combinations. But a lot of them landed on the gloves. I felt I threw more shots and landed more body punches. I thought I should have won the fight.”
“I did everything I was supposed to do,” said Shavkat Rakhimov. “Victory was on my side. I feel I won the fight. There were a few mistakes, and we need to work on it. I did everything that was possible. There were a few mistakes, but I will work on that. There is no perfect boxer, and I hope to gain more American fans.”
Castano Decisions Teixeira; Wins WBO Jr. Middleweight title
Brian Castano won the WBO Junior Middleweight title with an emphatic 12-round unanimous decision over Patrick Teixeira.
Castano was relentless in his output by landing hard shots to the head and body for which Teixeira had little answer for. Castano hurt Teixeira badly in round 12 as he landed a hard right that had Teixeira trying to run from Castano. Castano battered him until the final bell.
Castano landed 373 of 1136 punches; Teixeira was 197 of 972.
Castano, 153.8 lbs of Buenos Aries, ARG won by scores of 120-108, 119-109 and 117-111 and is now 16-1-1. Teixeira, 153.4 lbs of Sao Paulo, BRA is 31-.2
“I am very happy. We did a great job with my team,” said Brian Castaño. “It was a good fight. We all mistakes, and I have to fix things here and there, but a fight is a fight. Each fight is different, and I understand that. I knew Teixeia very well going into this fight. He is very strong, and he has a lot of heart. He is a great person. This was one of the greatest wins of my career. Not anyone can be a world champion, and I was able to do it twice. So I am very happy.”
Rios Decisions Negrete
Ronny Rios won a 10-round unanimous decision over Oscar Negrete in a super bantamweight fight.
Rios landed 290 of 880 punches; Negrete was 150 of 830.
Rios, 121.4 lbs of Santa Ana, CA won by scores of 100-90 twice and 99-91 and is now 33-3. Negrete, 121.6 lbs of Tierralta, COL is 19-3-2.
“I should have sat down more on my punches,” said Ronny Rios. “I went in a little bit too much with my head, and I kind of waited too long. But I’m happy with the win. I really want a world title shot for my next fight, and I think this fight was a necessary step in that direction.”
Mosley stops Olivas after 5!
Shane Mosley Jr. stopped Cristian Olivas after round five of their scheduled 10-round super middleweight bout.
In round three, Olivas started to swell around his right eye. The eye kept getting worse as Mosley pounded him repeatedly with left hand, and the fight was stopped by the corner following the 5th frame.
Mosley, 161.6 lbs of Pomona, CA is 17-3 with 10 knockouts. Olivas, 161.6 lbs of Mexicali, MEX is 19-8.
“I had a really tough opponent in there. But I went in there, looked sharp and got the job done. These are the kinds of fights that I need in order to show people that I am ready for a world title.”
Melikuziev stops Fitch in 3
Bektemir Melikuziev stopped Morgan Fitch in round three of their scheduled eight-round light heavyweight bout.
In round two, the nose of Fitch started to bleed. In round three, Melikuziev dropped Fitch with a straight left. He ended things with a vicious left to the body that sent Fitch down and the fight was stopped at 2:08.
Melikuziev, 170.6 lbs of Indio, CA is 7-0 with six knockouts. Fitch, 170.5 lbs of New Orleans is 19-5-1.
“Despite everything that happened, I think it was a good performance,” said Bektemir Melikuziev. “I wish I could have lasted longer and gotten a few more rounds in, but I think it was a good performance. I’m ready for any of the big names in my division.”
Azat Hovhannisyan stopped Enrique Bernache in round eight of their scheduled 10-round featherweight bout.
In round two, Hovhannisyan dropped Bernache.
Bernache, who was complaining of headbutts throughout the fight, bowed out in round eight.
Hovhannisyan, 122.8 lbs of Los Angeles is 19-3 with 16 knockouts. Bernache, 123 lbs of Guadalajara, MEX is 24-13.
“I’m very happy,” said Azat Hovhannisyan. “It’s my first time with Robert Garcia. We had a lot of good sparring. I’m No. 1 in the WBA. I want to fight a world champion.”
Victor Morales won an eight-round unanimous decision over Rodrigo Guerrero featherweight bout.
Morales, 125.8 lbs of Vancouver, WA won by scores of 80-72 an is now 14-0. Guerrero, 125.8 lbs of Mexico City is 26-10-2.
“After 16 months away from the ring, it feels great to be back,” said Victor Morales Jr. “I knew he was going to be very tough. He is a former world champion, so I knew it was going to be a difficult bout. Either way, I was able to fight either on the outside or on the inside.”
Dalis Kaleiopu made a successful pro debut with a 3rd round stoppage over Eduardo Sanchez in a four round super lightweight bout.
Kaleiopu dropped Sanchez with a hard right uppercut and the fight was stopped 48 seconds into the round.
Kaleiopu, 136 lbs of Waianae, HI is 1-0 with one knockout. Sanchez, 135.6 lbs of Corocoron, CA is 2-4.
“It’s been a long time because of COVID,” said Dalis Kaleiopu. “So, it felt great to finally make my pro debut. I hurt him many times, but I let him go. But then I landed a shot he couldn’t come back from, so it feels good to stop somebody that has never been stopped.
